


Crossing Paths

by Lilianachan



Series: The Accident [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-26
Updated: 2015-05-26
Packaged: 2018-04-01 09:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4013929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilianachan/pseuds/Lilianachan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On their way to work two people have a car accident. Both of them are caught in a limbo. To return to life they must find out what they have been missing all the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crossing Paths

** One Shot:  Crossing Paths **

**   
Disclaimer : I do not own Fairy Tail. **

* * *

 

** Part I **

** Her Story **

 

* * *

 

The accident was not her fault.

She knew that. But that did not change that it did happen. She could not move. The broken glass had cut her face and arms. She could not feel her legs. She was vastly aware of the metal pole that stuck in her abdomen. Her vision turned darker and despite the outcries of the helpers, she could not grasp her consciousness and drifted into the darkness.

Her name was Juvia Loxar and she was 23 years old. She had blue hair and matching blue eyes. She had just finished her studies and was on her way to her first day at work in the event-management branch of FairyCorps. She loved the sea and baking and was a lively person. She had plans for herself. Meet the love of her life, marry with 26, the first child, a boy, with 27 followed by a little girl with 28. Get back to work once both children were in secondary school, work until pension, have a lovely family. She wanted to live in a small row house in the suburbs with a small garden in the front and in the back. She wanted to drive a family car. Wanted to have enough money to get by good, but not too much. She would cry when her children moved out to study, the girl first then the boy, who only moved out after finishing university. She would love spending Christmases together, love her grandchildren, spoil them to bits. She would grow old with the love of her life and die of old age only a week after her husband would go.

None of this would happen. None of this could happen.

Because she was going to die.

When she woke up in the morning she was nervous.

It would be her first day at FairyCorps. She had looked for a job for such a long time that it was a relief to finally get one. After her tedious studies she had looked everywhere and after being hired by a company that was corrupt and went bankrupt the day before she was supposed to start, she was hired at her current job.

She had planned a long time to get ready so she could get to work bright and motivated. She cooked coffee, made herself some eggs with cheese and chili before taking her time to fetch and read the newspaper over her first cup of coffee. After finishing her breakfast and the most interesting articles she pushed her newspaper into her bag, along with her laptop and her wallet. She poured herself another cup and went to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. In between the acts of her morning routine she would sip at her coffee.

After getting herself another cup, her third this morning, she moved to her bedroom where she stood before her closet. Sipping her coffee she got out several outfits. In the end she settled for a white blouse, a grey cardigan and a high waist navy blue skirt that reached her knees. Once she had changed she quickly did her makeup and pulled her dark blue hair into a tight bun. While stepping into her four inch black heels she picked up her cup and walked into her kitchen.

She was almost ready to go. Quickly she put the rest of her coffee into a Thermos that she afterwards put into her bag and got her keys, coat and phone. She was ready. This was the day her life would change.

On her way to her car she greeted her best friend's – and neighbour's- girlfriend, who also seemed to be on her way to work. Reaching her car she pushed her black bag to the passenger seat and chose a CD to listen to. Settling for Jessie J's Who We Are she let her radio choose a song randomly. She smiled and hummed along to the title song.

The streets were unusually free, no big traffic jam which was a huge surprise since she had to get from one part of the city to another, through the central and the business district.

She was about to turn left when she hit the brakes. In her periphery she saw it. The truck that was almost tipping over. The dark Mercedes trying to get out of the bigger vehicle's way. The driver losing control of his car. The car making its way over to the crossing. Heading her way. Her car came to a hold.

On the crossing.

The other car came nearer. She could see the other driver and for a second she could even muster him. It was an out of the world moment. It was magical. It felt as if she had known the man for her whole life, as if he belonged to her, as if he was destiny.

His fearful gaze tore her back into the real world. She nodded at him, smiling sadly. She was not stupid. She knew she could not stop it from happening. She was aware that he would hit her. They would most likely crash into the shop, tree or pole behind them. Both of their chances of making it out alive were small. She knew she should be sad, or mad or anything.

But the man in the other car had nothing to do with it. He had tried to save his life. Lost control. It happened. She was at peace with the situation. Yes her friends would be sad because of her. She hoped the man had someone to cry for him, too. She was at peace with what was about to happen. And she had no idea why. It seemed wrong on a logical level.

Then it did happen. The Mercedes crashed into her little Nissan and together they slithered backwards. Her head hit the steering wheel. Glass from her wind shield cut her skin. Then there was a sudden stop. She could hear an ear-splitting scream. She could feel pain. Then she realized it had been her who was screaming. She did not know how, logic failed her, but a thin metal pole stuck out from her stomach. She was bleeding. She could not feel her legs.

The accident was not her fault. But she was going to die.

* * *

 

** Part II **

** His Story **

 

* * *

 

The summer seemed to last forever.

But for him it would be over now. He could hear a loud and high-pitched scream. He knew it belonged to the woman. It was his fault and he knew it. If he had not tried to get out of the truck's way he would not have lost control over his car. He felt pain.  He felt his face bleeding, felt his consciousness fading. He knew most of the bones in his body were shattered. He would not stand a chance.

He was Gray Fullbuster. 25 years, dark hair, dark eyes, talented pianist. He had started working for FairyCorps as an artist for their events after finishing high school 6 years ago. He had done his BA in piano, beside of his work there and, after Laxus Dreyar had changed into the management of another branch, he had become the Head of the Event-management branch. Of course he got himself a new grand piano and a nice car from the raise. He did not particularly like his work, after all he still preferred sitting behind the white and black keys, but he was happy to have a set cause of income.

He was an artistic guy. Aside from playing the piano and composing his own tunes, he was a sculptor. Not well known, but talented. He loved expressing himself in music and art, because he had a problem with talking about his feelings in general. He was not a man of big words. It was not that he was shy or anything. He just had absolutely no idea how to express his feelings. The women he went out with mistook that often for brooding, or him being cold. He just had the principle that when he had no idea what to say, he said nothing.

Of course he wanted a family. Of course he wanted to have a woman in his life that understood him like he was. Of course he wanted children. Two to be exact. A girl and a boy. He wanted to give his children a father he never had. His parents had been involved in a gang attack when was very young, his mother died and his father ended up in a coma he had just recently woken up from. He wanted to give his children a childhood without loneliness, without that rage and feeling of unfairness. He wanted to give them a bright future. Wanted to give them the chances of becoming what they wanted. He wanted to give them a family.

He never would be able to do this. His future children would stay what they were: an idea, a concept, a thought. Because he would never meet them.

He had overslept.

Instead of waking up at 7 am he must have ignored his alarm and only got up at 7.30. That meant he would have to rush. He did not like to  rush. After a quick cold shower – he  had no time to wait for the water to get warm and he would not take as long in a cold shower  –  he  pulled on his usual outfit. Black dress pants, a white dress shirt and a dark tie. Snatching the newspaper and putting it into his black laptop bag, where his laptop still rested from the day before, he quickly bit into a piece of toast.

He was just about to flush it down with his coffee when his phone rang. He did not have time for this. He looked at it, mentally preparing himself to read the names Natsu or Erza, who would without doubt tell him not to be late, and nearly dropped his phone when he read the name Silver.

His father had just recently woken up from a long coma and now had the opinion he had to do everything with Gray he could not do when his son was a child. That included teaching him how to ride a bike in the park, for example, although Gray had learned that before the coma. It was not that Gray did not appreciate his father trying his best to make up for the lost time, it was just he had an event to plan, several piano pieces to both compose and learn for said event and had no time in general at the moment. He thought of letting Silver ring off for a minute before, realizing his father would not stop trying, picking it up.

“Good morning, dad. I'm sorry I don't have much time. I need to get to work.” he mumbled into his phone and his father started talking. After wishing him a good morning and asking about how he felt, Silver went on with saying  
“You know I've been thinking about it for some time now... I'm not growing younger, neither are you Gray, I think it's about high time you give me some grandchildren. This way I won't have to annoy you anymore with the 'I need to make up the time I lost'...”.

Gray groaned internally. He had no time or mind for this right now. “Listen, dad, let's talk about this on Saturday. I really need to hurry right now.” he cut his father off and after letting his father tell him to drive safely he put the phone down.

Checking his watch he cursed. With the usual traffic jam he would be late. Erza would rip his head off.

He quickly brushed his teeth before running out of the door. In the little cafe next door he got a coffee to go and hurried to his car. He drove a little bit over the speed limit, nothing more than 5 kilometres per hour (3 mph) and was about pass a large truck, when a rush of wind made the truck sway dangerously. He cursed under his breath and sped up a bit, to get past the truck.

That was when he saw the black Nissan about to, rightfully, pass the crossing. He hit the brakes and he did not know what happened next, but he lost control over his car. He tried everything he should have and everything he should not have done, he tried stopping the car by hand break, he tried the lowest gear so his motor would at least slow the movement down, he tried getting out of the way by steering the car in another direction. In vain.

He saw the woman – she was beautiful – looking at him and a lump formed in his throat. He would end this woman's life. Looking at her felt weird. He did not know why. And some of his fear and sadness vanished with her resigned nod at him. He tried a small apologetic smile and time slowed down.

His car neared hers and in a moment of shock he could not remember what happened. But he had crashed into her car. They slithered together and came to a sudden halt. His airbag had gone out saving him from fatal neck injuries, but the impact had caused his car to flip, so he was upside down. He did not know how and why but his legs, arms and rips hurt as if they were broken, he had hit his head on the side window and felt the blood trickling down his face.

He heard the sirens and when someone asked him if he was alright, he could only tell them to make sure the woman was alright. Then he lost consciousness.

He knew. He was going to die.

* * *

 

** Part III **

** Finding Hersel ** ** f **

 

* * *

 

The woman's idea of heaven was different.

She did not know why, but she had always thought it would feel nice and peaceful. No it rather was restless. She walked by two statues of people that looked vastly familiar, but she could not remember their names. The room was long and cold, except for the almost white, yellow carpet on the floor leading her to a huge door. She pushed the door open and found herself in an operation room.

The doctors were hurrying to try to stop the bleeding of the person on the table. The person was a woman with blue long hair. She looked horrible.

“This is always the worst part.”, said a high voice next to her ear and she turned around. A seemingly young girl with long blonde curls and blue-ish green eyes smiled at her. ”That is your body. I know you don't remember. You were in a car accident.” the girl explained.

“Why am I here?” she asked the girl and, still smiling, the girl answered

“You are here because you are in a limbo. It is not decided if you will die or not. You have still have some things to do on earth. The decision is in your hand. You can end it right here and now, or you can fight. It is not guaranteed you will win, but you can try.”

“What is her name?” she asked

“It still is your name, you know? It's Juvia Loxar.”, the girl giggled and she nodded.

The name sounded familiar but it did not feel like it belonged to her. She felt all alone, as if no one cared. As if Juvia Loxar was just a shell missing something.

“If I would decide to give up... would she be missed?” she asked and the girl looked at her in wonder  
“That's not a question I hear that often dear, but yes, she would be missed. Come on I'll show you. My name is Mavis, by the way.” the girl smiled and she nodded.

The two took off to go to the next room. She – she supposed she would have to get used to the name Juvia – could see the waiting room full with several people.

“Do you see the tall black haired man with the piercings? He's your best friend Gajeel. He was your friend when you had no one else and vice versa. The small woman embracing him is his girlfriend Levy. The tall black man next to them is Lily. Lily is a friend of Gajeel's but you two get along.” Mavis explained and Juvia watched them.

Lily seemed worried, Levy pretended to be strong for her boyfriend. But Gajeel broke her heart. She could tell he was a proud and rough man. She wondered how they became friends in the first place. But the man sat there, pressing his face into his girlfriend's neck, pretending not to cry. The image broke her heart.

“What do I have to do if I decide to fight?” she asked Mavis and the blonde smiled proudly  
“You have to go back and find what you have been missing all this time. Is that your decision?”

With a final look to Gajeel she nodded. If this man really was her friend, she would fight for his sake.

After she had uttered these word to Mavis, a bright light engulfed her.

Mavis' voice was sounding in her head when she could see again.

“Find out what you have been missing.”, it said and she – the name Juvia Loxar still sounded alien to her – tried to blink away the light spots from the light.

She found herself in a hospital room. A man was standing, holding what seemed to be a baby which  was  wrapped in something pink. He was smiling down at the silent child. The woman that lay on the bed looked exhausted but happy. Those people looked the same as the statues in the entrance to the limbo.

She studied them for any hint of who they could be. The man was tall with shaggy blonde hair that was disheveled. His green eyes shone with happiness. The woman looked at the man and the baby with azure eyes. Her blue waves were short and deranged.

The woman looked so much like the woman that she was supposed to be. She was certain. These two were Juvia Loxar's parents. She turned when the door opened and a man came waltzing in.

“Mika, darling, look at what we got -”, he stopped dead in his tracks. He was tall. His black hair was combed back neatly, his dark eyes looking around confused. In one of his hand he held a packet of chocolate, the other was rested on a baby's head. The small child was in a sling that was draped around the man.

“Oh, seems as if we're in the wrong room, Gray.” he laughed and the man holding Juvia shared a gaze with his wife.

“I'm Silver and this is my son Gray.” the man introduced. “How old's she?” he asked and Juvia's father responded  
“Three Days.”

“Congratulations. I remember holding this little one when he was just as old. They grow up so fast I tell ya. Hey Gray, you wanna meet her?”, after his son gave a gurgle Silver chuckled “Of course you want  to . You'll be a ladies-man someday, just like your old man. But we've gotta ask her first, ya know? Always ask for a lady’s permission first.”

Silver placed the chocolate on a table and looked at the other two adults. Unsure the man looked at his wife, who smiled tiredly and nodded. Silver took that as a yes and got Gray out of the sling. He held him and walked over to the other man.

“Gray, say hello to the little girl.” Silver murmured to his son who reached for the girl with his hand “No, no, no touching, your hands could be dirty and it's really dangerous to touch a baby with a dirty hand. Just say hi.” Silver instructed and, as if he really understood Silver's words, the baby boy laughed and gurgled at the girl.

The girl, who had her eyes closed before, opened her azure eyes and looked at the boy.

A bright light appeared and took her away from the scene. The image of the two babies burned into her mind.

With the name 'Juvia Loxar' more prominent in her mind she opened her eyes again.

She looked around and saw a town completely destroyed. Buildings broken down, Dead bodies on the floor, Fire consuming those buildings that were intact. She stood in front of a girl who was silently sobbing. She was around seven years old, her blue hair was halfway out of her blue braid. She was kneeling over two bodies, unaware of anything else around her.

A woman with blonde hair walked around and upon spotting the little girl neared her to scoop the crying girl up into her arms. “Come on little raindrop, let's get you somewhere safe. I'm Belno and I can take you to a place where they can take care of you.” she whispered into the girl's ear. The girl shook her head. “Come on, if the Deliora gang comes back they'll kill you. This isn't a place for a little girl.” she reasoned and the girl started sobbing again. After sighing Belno picked the girl up and hurried across the ruins of the town.

When they heard the voice of two people talking Belno froze and hid behind the next collapsed wall. She told the little girl to stay silent. She relaxed when she saw another woman with a little boy with white hair walk around, looking for survivors. The pair pulled a little boy, not older than the little girl in Belno's arms, out from a hidden space. He was crying, his black hair caked with blood.

Reluctantly he let the woman and the boy take him with them. What neither the other woman nor the other little boy, nor Belno realized was that the black haired boy's storm grey eyes met the little girl's azure ones. The only one seeing this was the young woman caught in the limbo.

Again the white light took her away. The name 'Juvia Loxar' even more prominent.

She was in a building with a lot of young children. An Orphanage.

She recognized the little girl from before. Her blue hair curled outwards in an individual way. She was about nine years now. She was sitting alone looking out of the window in deep thought, oblivious to the other children around her, pointing their fingers and not even bothering to hide their sneers.

The door opened and the orphanage leader came walking in with two boys. One of them, a bit older was glaring at the younger one, who wore a scowl. The girl at the window did not even turn to the two of them.

She watched the girl at the window. Day turned into night and the girl got her dinner, only to presume her place at the window. She left the place to go to bed. Night turned into day and the girl returned to her place at the window.

A week later the older, with white hair, was adopted. The girl had not spoken a word with him.

A month later the younger was gone, too. The moment of his departure brief and without feeling.

“Goodbye”, the boy murmured at the wish of his new parent, a small man with grey hair calling himself Makarov. The little girl averted her gaze from the window.

The girl must have been adopted.

At least that explained the new surroundings she found herself in. It was a castle like place with cold floors and walls. Was this a boarding school? It looked the part. The girl, around the age of 11, sat on the floor. Around her were three males. One of them wore thick dark glasses, the other spoke with a French accent and the third one, who seemed to be her age as well, had unusual black and white hair.

The girl held up a T-Shirt. She must have been working on it. It was a girl shirt, in basic black. She seemed to have stitched the words 'Element Four' and a name on the back in a light blue.

The three took the other three picked up their shirts as well and each put theirs in a duffel bag. “Are you ready for camp Toto -chan ?” she asked the boy in her age, who only shrugged. The boy with the French accent insisted on being a gentleman and carrying the girl's bag.

She followed the group, seeing that the girl's face was without emotion. They got into a bus that took them to the railway. The girl tried to follow the males, who were all taller and faster than her. She passed a group of other kids and when one of the other kids took a step back and ran into her, she fell.

A hand came into her vision and a boy with red eyes and long black hair held out his hand for her to take. The woman in the limbo remembered him. He was going to be Juvia Loxar's best friend.

The girl took his hand and let herself be pulled up. Gajeel turned to the group of kids that seemed to be leaving and yelled out to the salmon haired boy who had caused her fall. No one of the group reacted.

None but the black haired boy with the stormy eyes, who turned to them. As soon as this moment had come it was gone again.

“Fuck off, kid.”, Gajeel's voice, a bit deeper than in the memory before, growled and she found herself on a school yard.

The girl from before stood behind him, raising a brow at the young male that was holding out a letter to her. Her blue hair was short now, no curls to be seen. Her face still expressionless. She was around 16.

“Get outta my way Redfox.” the other teen growled. “Bora broke up with her so she's on the market again. She can decide who she wants to date on 'er own.” he moved to land a hit on the tall black haired teenager.

Before either of the two males could react the girl had intercepted and had caught the boy's fist. “Get away from Juvia and Gajeel-kun.”, she whispered menacingly. The boy snorted and turned.

“Fucking bitch.”

“Wha' did ya jus' call 'er?” Gajeel roared but Juvia just shook her head. It did not matter. He was not worth it.

“Thank you, Gajeel-kun. Juvia wants to be alone for a bit.” she explained and turned away from her friend. The woman in the limbo followed her and noticed she was leaving the school grounds. 16 year old Juvia was skipping school.

The young female wandered around a bit when she ended at a bus stop. Without any apparent reason she stood to take the bus that was approaching. She waited for the doors to open and when they did open, she waited for all passengers to get out. When she took a step into the bus a black haired teen seemed to realize this was his stop and bumped into her. Their eyes met and he murmured a 'Sorry' before jumping out.

She found the girl sitting anxious in a room with five others.

The girl looked like 18 and clutched what seemed like a score to her breast. She seemed nervous, the fingers of her hand moving across her leg in a frenzy, the pattern seemed methodical though. The girl must be rehearsing the fingering of the piece she would play.

This, without doubt, was the entrance exam to a music school. She fidgeted in her seat and almost jumped when the handsome black haired male that had just auditioned came out. He told the six people that the next number could come in in a deep voice and Juvia almost threw herself into him when she stood up. She was next.

She could feel the man's eyes on her as she hurried inside, almost dropping her score.

She was standing at a crossing watching the small Nissan approach.

She felt apprehension about what was about to happen and suddenly she was sitting inside the Nissan. She knew what was about to happen. She was calm about it. The dark Mercedes sped towards her and she braced herself for the impact. In a moment of finality she looked at the black haired male in the driver's seat of the dark Mercedes.

It was him. Little Gray. The infant introduced into her life by his father, who was in the wrong room. The little boy saved from Deliora gang. The boy entering the orphanage saying 'Goodbye' when he left a month later. The boy from the railway station, looking at her after she had fallen. The teenager bumping against her in the bus. The young man at the entrance exam. The man from the accident. All her life she had randomly met him, again and again and never knew the value.

His name was Gray. Her name was Juvia. Juvia Loxar. And she was not going to die.

* * *

 

** Part IV **

** Finding Himself **

 

* * *

 

Reluctantly he handed over the key. The key to his mind. It opened in front of him after darkness. Had he always resided in darkness? It felt like an eternity.

But when his eyes opened to the strange light that fulfilled him, he was surprised. He had not thought he would ever do anything but sit in the darkness. Trapped in his own mind. But the light came and urged him to open his mind, or rather let his mind be opened.

He found himself in a room. It was simple. Cold. So cold he felt restless. Several statues stood in the room. All four of them white, but even though the three female statues did seem familiar, he could not think of their names. Looking at the male statue a name shot through his empty mind. ‘Silver’.

On the floor was a dark purple, almost black carpet that led him to a door.

After walking through the door he found himself in an operation room.

A man was laying on the operating table. The surgeons were placed at his head. They seemed to work at the man’s brain.

“I know this isn’t easy for you.” he turned to the source of the voice. A black haired boy stood. His eyes were also black and seemed empty. “This is you. You don’t remember, I aware. You were in a car accident. You have internal bleeding in your brain. I am Zeref, I am here to answer your questions.”

 “Why am I here?” he asked the boy, who answered

“You are caught in a limbo. It is not yet decided whether you should live or die. There are still things left to do. It’s your decision. Either you fight yourself back into life or you end here. Whether or not you will make it is not clear.

“The man’s name – which is yours as well – is Gray Fullbuster.” the boy explained.

That name struck a feeling in him. But it still felt alien. Like an empty shell.

“Let me show you something.” the boy murmured and took him into another room.

A man looking like the statue which had evoked the name Silver in his mind sat hunched in a chair. His hands were in front of his face, hiding his expression. Suddenly the door opened and a white haired man, younger than the other, came rushing in, followed by a young woman with pink hair. The white haired man stood in front of the black haired man and opened his mouth. Silver just shook his head. Defeated, the white haired man fell into the chair next to him.

The pink haired woman looked at the two men and was biting her lip. Tears were swelling in her eyes. She averted her eyes to the other group. Then her eyes widened, as if in understanding and the tears spilled. She broke down in heavy sobs and the white haired man rose quickly to join her crouched position on the floor, putting his arms around her shaking frame.

He remembered a woman. Her blue hair and eyes. She was dying to and it was his fault.

“If I fight can I help her survive?” he turned to the boy who raised a brow

“That is certainly an interesting question, which I do not have an answer to. I cannot promise you the answer is yes, but it certainly is possible.”

He looked around the room once more and the boy watched him. A tired smile passed the boy’s lips as he nodded yes.

After the darkness, that was so familiar to him, had come and gone again Zeref’s voice was ringing.

“Find out what you have been missing.” it said and he – the name Gray Fullbuster still sounding alien – looked around.

He found himself following a man. The man he knew as the statue and the crying man in the other hospital. He seemed younger, at least 20 years. He looked tired but pretended cheerfulness for the sake of the toddler that was sitting against his chest, bound to him with a linen sling. He sighed unhappily. In his right hand was a package of chocolate.

He followed the man up several flights of stairs. He followed the man to a room and the man halted. He took a look around and after a heavy sigh pushed the door open to a room starting to call out to a woman who was called Mika. Then he stopped dead in his tracks.

In the room  was  a woman lying in a hospital bed. She looked tired. Her short blue hair was in deranged waves and her azure eyes immediately looked over to them. The tall blond man holding a pink bundle was smiling, his green eyes rapt on the child in his arms. The baby’s eyes were closed and a thin tuft of blue hair was on the head of the small human.

With a laugh that did not quite reach his eyes, the man turned to the toddler “Oh, seems as if we're in the wrong room, Gray.” So the toddler was Gray. Gray Fullbuster. He.

He watched the blond man share a gaze with the blue haired woman. For a moment Silver paused, there was a sadness in his gaze, which he could not explain. A graveness. A longing. In a small movement Silver shook his head and introduced himself to the man and the woman

“I'm Silver and this is my son Gray.” Then he asked  “How old's she?”  and the girl’s father responded  
“Three Days.”

“Congratulations. I remember holding this little one when he was just as old. They grow up so fast I tell ya. Hey Gray, you wanna meet her?” he asked the boy and after his son gave a gurgle Silver chuckled “Of course you want. You'll be a ladies-man someday, just like your old man. But we've gotta ask her first, ya know? Always ask for a lady’s permission first.”

Silver placed the chocolate on a table and looked at the other two adults. Unsure, the other man looked at his wife, who smiled tiredly and nodded. Silver took that as a yes and got Gray out of the sling. He held him and walked over to the other man.

“Gray, say hello to the little girl.” Silver murmured to his son who reached for the girl with his hand “No, no, no touching, your hands could be dirty and it's really dangerous to touch a baby with a dirty hand. Just say hi.” Silver instructed and, as if he really understood Silver's words, baby Gray gurgled.

For him the time seemed to halt as the small girl opened her eyes and her azure, innocent eyes met baby Gray’s darker ones.

Then again the darkness came again pulling him away from the scene.

The name ‘Gray Fullbuster’ still felt alien, but the shell of that name seemed to be filled with matter.

The darkness disappeared again and he found himself in a hugely destroyed town. Buildings were burning around them, corpses lying on the floor. He stood above a boy. His hair was black but caked with mud and blood. He was around eight or nine years old. Somewhere near there was a low female voice, that neither felt familiar nor important.

He jumped when a woman with a white haired boy, not much older than the black haired boy, approached the boy.

“Ur, we have to get away from here! What if these Deliora people find us.” the boy asked and the woman shook her head.

“Lyon look over there”, she pointed to where the black haired boy was hidden “we can’t leave him here, can we?”

The white haired boy, Lyon, grumbled something. He stood watch while the woman pulled the other boy from his hiding place in the rubble. 

The woman, Ur, pulled the boy into her arms and carried him away. What she did not see was the little girl looking at them from behind a stone wall.

Time again halted as storm grey met azure blue. Again.

With more matter, one might now already call it life, the shell of ‘Gray Fullbuster’ became less alien to the man in the limbo. Again he was pulled into the familiar darkness.

He found himself in a room with many young children. The black haired boy sat there, not communicating with the others.

He was a bit older now, but the white haired boy was not with him. He saw the boy open a letter. It was short, not really interesting or informing. It was rather forced wording and was signed with Lyon. The two boys had been separated. Lyon was adopted, that was expressed in the letter, while Gray was still in the orphanage.

The door opened. A woman came in followed by a small, old man. The man was introduced as Makarov and he was on the lookout for a kid. A friend of his, he called him Gildarts, had heard that a friend of his, Ur, had adopted two children after the attack of the Deliora gang. Gildarts had gotten notice of Ur’s death and that one of the boys was still in the orphanage. Gildarts had asked Makarov, who owned a boarding school to adopt the boy and teach him.

He watched the small boy with the black hair raise his hand. He was the boy Makarov was looking for. The small man smiled at the boy and asked him to follow him.

“Say goodbye, Gray.” he told the boy and Gray turned to the other children and muttered a goodbye. The other children did not care.

On their way out they walked past a girl sitting at a window. Makarov turned to the boy and asked him to say goodbye to this girl as well.

 “Goodbye”, the boy murmured at the wish of his new parent and the little girl averted her gaze from the window.

The moment froze once more and darkness overcame the onlooker in the limbo once more.

The boy, now around 13, was sitting on a suitcase in a small apartment building.

He was waiting. After calling out two names, Natsu and Erza, two teenager in his age came rushing out of two rooms. Each of them carrying a suitcase themselves.

“Come on, Gildarts’ll kill us if we miss the bus, or if they have to wait for us.”

The three rushed out of the room and jumped into a bus in front of their house. He followed them. The bus took them to a railway. They stood, with other children in their age and waited. The salmon haired boy that seemed to live together with Gray – the man in the limbo presumed he was called Natsu – declared that he was hungry and without looking where he went turned. The boy ran into a girl that did not belong to their group and she fell, which Natsu did not notice.

The man in the limbo watched Gray look at the girl. Another boy with long black hair and red eyes helped her up. The other boy yelled at Natsu, who did not care. No one seemed to care.

But Gray who looked at the girl with the blue waves. Storm grey met azure blue. The image froze.

The darkness came.

 

“… She’s at the hospital Gray, Meredy is with me, I’m taking care of  her . The doctors didn’t give much hope for her.” Gray, now around 18 simply went back to class, with the conversation partner still on the phone with him.  He grabbed his backpack and despite the teacher calling after him simply left the room.

“In which hospital did you say Ultear was in?” he asked and after he got an answer, he simply put the phone down and walked to a bus station. He took a look at the schedule and when the next bus came stepped in. Time passed, the man in the limbo did not know how long but at one point the bus halted.

This teenage  version of Gray took a look at the plan that was displayed in the bus and jumped up. He had to get out. He was the last to step out and bumped into a girl, around 16, who wanted to get in. He muttered an apology and storm grey met azure blue.

The man in the limbo knew what came next. He embraced the darkness.

The boy, now a man with about 20 played the last notes of the score in front of him.

He stood up and thanked the judges sitting at the long table. Without doubt, this, was the entrance exam to a music school.

The judges told him to ask the next person inside. A young woman, around 18, and obviously nervous stumbled and almost fell into his arms. A few of her blue waves escaped the ponytail her hair was in. She grabbed her score tighter, obviously afraid she was dropping it.

He followed her figure with his gaze and hoped both would be accepted.

He watched the black haired man in the dark Mercedes passing the truck.

He was nervous. He knew what would happen without remembering it. Then he suddenly was in the Mercedes. He was calm. He sped towards the little Nissan and he braced himself for the impact. In a moment of finality he looked at the blue haired female in the driver’s seat of the black Nissan.

It was her. Little Juvia. The infant that was introduced to his life by his father, who was in the wrong room. The little girl saved from Deliora gang. The girl sitting in the orphanage, sitting at the window as he bid his ‘Goodbye’ when he left a month after arriving. The girl from the railway station he was looking at after she had fallen. The teenager he bumped against in the bus. The young woman at the entrance exam. The woman from the accident. All his life he had randomly met her, again and again and never knew the value.

Her name was Juvia. His name was Gray. Gray Fullbuster. And he was not going to die.

* * *

 

** Part V **

** Finding Each Other **

 

* * *

 

“Did you find out what you’re looking for?” , Zeref asked him and he nodded.

“My name is Juvia Loxar and to survive I have to find Gray Fullbuster.”, she explained and Mavis smiled.

“I do not know if that’s just the first step. But I need to find her. All my life she was near but I didn’t know.”, he told Zeref .

“Then come with me.”, Mavis told her and led her into a room.

In the room many people walked around, searching. Gray tried to find who he was looking for but could not see her.

Frustrated by all the people around her, Juvia turned away from Mavis and walked out of the group of people.

When he was outside the mass, he sat down on the floor thinking of a strategy to find her.

She closed her eyes.

There was something inside him pulling him into a direction

She let that feeling guide her.

He felt a presence nearing him but he kept his eyes closed.

She held her breath.

As they came to stand before each other both opened their eyes.

They both wanted to live. They wanted to meet again to get to know each other in life. They did not want to leave their friends alone.

They wanted to fight death and destiny together.

He held his hand out to her and she took it.

The accident was not their fault. It was what it was. An accident. Alone they would die. Together they would live.

* * *

 

** I don’t even know what this is, myself but I had the idea some weeks ago and this has been lingering around my laptop since then. This one is just about them meeting again and again. If they return to life or not will be revealed in a sequel.  **


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